EXIM Bank Assists More Than 3,000 Clients

More than $180 billion has been disbursed by the EXIM Bank over 38 years, helping over 3,000 clients operate as viable and competitive business ventures in international markets.

The trade financing institution is the Caribbean’s first Export-Import Bank and is focused on providing a wide range of financing instruments at competitive interest rates for the country’s productive sector.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the EXIM Bank, Errol Barnaby, said the bank plays a critical role in the value chain of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) ecosystem.

“Exim Bank is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the business ministry. Throughout this year, the EXIM Bank mandate is really to facilitate economic growth… and we have been doing this by tailoring products and providing financial solutions for the productive sector,” he said, in a recent interview with JIS News.

Specific focus is placed on MSMEs involved in non-traditional exports.

These include Tourism, Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Mining, Service Industry, Information and Communications Technology and the Creative industries.

Mr. Barnaby said the Bank recognises that MSMEs are key drivers for economic activities in the country. This is why creating loan products fit for these businesses is an important part of nation-building.

“We have recently launched the E-Commerce Loan, which is focused on digitisation and developing online information platforms for clients in the form of websites, for instance. This would enable entities to move away from the demand for more hard copies or paper-based stores of information in an organisation,” he said.

Other loan facilities, such as the Energy Loan, are geared towards climate-smart approaches, as they enable borrowers to access sources of renewable energy to power their businesses.

“For the Energy Loan, the maximum amount [a client can borrow] is $50 million. At that juncture, if a client realises he or she wants to expand after seven years, then Exim Bank would certainly entertain the request at that point,” Mr. Barnaby said.

“[Once you are ] in good standing with us and your repayment history would be intact, you’ll be on board with us in moving forward, and in that, too, we can also look at other areas in which we can partner with you to assist the growth of your establishment,” he added.

To learn more about the work of the EXIM Bank and to view the available loan offerings, persons can visit eximbankja.com.